BERLIN. % 
It appears from these figures that while the birth-rate is much larger in the 
working-class districts, it has also fallen there, during the four years, to a 
greater extent than in the residential districts. 
I he marriage-rate for the whole city in 1905 was 22’16 per 1,000 of the 
population, which was a higher rate than for the preceding four years and 
above the average of the preceding 12 years. 
The death-rate in 1905 was 17*1 per 1,000 against 17*0 in 1904. There 
has been a steady decline in the death-rate for many years ; in 1895 it stood 
at 20*24 per 1,000, and in 1885 at 24*40. 
As part of a systematic crusade against the needless sacrifice of infant life, 
the municipal authorities maintain a series of seven dispensaries established in 
working-class districts, at which advice is given to mothers as to the right 
nursing and feeding of their children, and, if necessary, pure sterilised milk is 
supplied either gratis or at a reduced charge. The dispensaries are conducted 
independently of the Poor Law, so that pauperisation and civil disqualifications 
may not be involved by the acceptance of assistance. 
Other dispensaries serving the same end have been established by philan 
thropic societies, which, indeed, led the way in the matter, and very encouraging 
results have been achieved, though the institutions in operation are 
held to be quite disproportionate to the great existing need. The town 
of Charlottenburg has four similar agencies. There the rate of infant 
mortality was 156 per 1,000 births in 1905, against rates of 171 in 1904 
and 226 in 1895. 
In 1905 the mortality from tuberculosis in Berlin was 2*56 per 1,000 of 
the population, viz., 3*0 in the case of males and 2*1 in the case of females. 
The death-rate from pulmonary consumption was 2*1 per 1,000 (males 2*5 
and females 1*7). A good work is being done by the various dispensaries 
which have been established in Berlin, Charlottenburg, and Schöneberg in 
the interest of consumptives. 
Among the undertakings carried on by the town are waterworks, gas 
works (though the English company which introduced the gas supply still 
serves an exclusive area), a cattle market and abattoir, a series of 14 market 
halls, a river dock, a fire insurance society, baths and swimming establishments 
on the river and elsewhere, a savings bank, libraries and reading rooms, and 
gymnastic halls. The electrical power and light works and the tramways are 
still in the hands of private companies, but the Municipal Council is now 
constructing several tramway lines, and it intends to extend this department of 
public enterprise as opportunity offers. Meantime it derives a large revenue 
from both the tramway and electrical companies, and in its contracts with the 
former, as well as with the elevated and underground railway companies, it 
provides for the properties being acquired by the town at a future date. 
The municipality maintains many institutions, which do not come under 
the Poor Law, for the special benefit of the working classes and the poor. 
There are six Convalescent Homes, situated in the country, admission to which 
is, as a rule, by payment ; there are public rate-supported hospitals and asylums 
for the afflicted of all kinds (chief amongst them the new Rudolph Virchow 
Hospital) ; there are refuges for the homeless of both sexes ; and the town 
also subsidises labour colonies, labour registries, people’s kitchens, and a large 
number of miscellaneous philanthropic agencies. In addition, 26 paid School 
Doctors watch the health of the children attending the elementary schools. The 
work of Poor Law Administration is carried out, under the direction of permanent 
officials, by 4,380 voluntary almoners, who are divided into 382 committees. 
The entire cost to Berlin of poor relief, both indoor and outdoor, was in 1905 
nearly a million pounds. 
Occupations, Wages, and Hours oe Labour. 
In the course of the past 20 or 30 years Berlin has developed a large and 
many-sided industry. The census of December, 1900, enumerated 410,314 
persons resident in the city who were engaged in trades and industries as wage-